Patriots to Sign FB Joey Iosefa, OL Chris Barker, & FS Cedric Thompson to Reserve/Future Contracts

"We'll turn the page here and move on. And start the process all over again." Those were the words New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said during the final press conference of his team's 2015 season. A crucial part of the process Belichick mentioned is maintaining the roster.

One aspect of doing that is re-signing the team's practice squad players to reserve/future contracts. Two of the nine members of the Patriots' final practice squad – fullback Joey Iosefa and offensive lineman Chris Barker – will sign their deals in the near future, according to Jeff Howe:

Joey Iosefa and Chris Barker will sign future contracts, per source.

The 24-year old Iosefa was originally drafted in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, the former Hawaii Rainbow Warrior was unable to survive final roster cuts and after a short stint in the FXFL signed with the Patriots in October. He was promoted to the active roster mid-December and appeared in New England's 33-16 win over the Tennessee Titans. Despite being the leading rusher that day, Iosefa was released after the Patriots' next game and returned to the practice squad.

Chris Barker, the 25-year old offensive lineman out of Nevada, was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Miami Dolphins. Just like Iosefa, he did not survive roster cut-downs during his rookie campaign and subsequently signed with the Patriots. Ever since arriving in Foxboro, Barker has been on and off the 53-man roster and practice squad. Overall, he was on the active roster six times in three years.

[UPDATE] The Patriots have also signed safety Cedric Thompson to a future's contract, via his agent David Canter:

Congratulations to #TeamDEC client @cedjunior2 on signing his futures contract with @Patriots

The Patriots signed Cedric Thompson to the practice squad on January 12th. Thompson was originally drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the 5th round this year but was released by the Dolphins before the season and spent most of the year on the practice squad. Thompson is more of a rangy centerfield type safety than playing in the box. He adds depth behind Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon in that area.